"While some avant-garde bands attempt to breach genre boundaries by removing as many traditional melodies and discernible rhythm patterns as possible while still qualifying as music, these Californians take an experimental approach by simply modifying the tools of the trade. By swapping six-string guitars for the obscure yet beautiful hammered dulcimer, they practice modern black metal on a structural level with a completely unique sound capable of moments more beautiful and more terrifying than one is likely to find anywhere else in the genre. Collective: The Shape of He to Come, their seventh LP in as many years, is an attempt to further not only the boundaries of the scene but also their own aesthetic." Bring down the hammer![Give in to your anger...]

"For those engulfed in the US Black Metal (USBM) scene, California's Palace of Worms may be a familiar name to you. For everyone else, the band mixes Pacific Northwest Black Metal (PNWBM) and the ethereal beauty of Alcest (Alcest-core) with some signature Norwegian Black Metal (TRVEBM) rawness." March of the Acronyms![Give in to your anger...]

"I must admit I was pretty excited when I first read about San Francisco’s Lotus Thief, a duo consisting of musicians that are also members of Botanist. The promo blurb and various press snippets mentioned buzzwords like “space metal”, touches of avant-garde, and experimentalism which was enough to tickle my interest. Knowing how great the music from their other project was, I dug into Lotus Thief’s debut Rervm with a lot of expectations." Expectations are a lot like chocolates. Too many make you die and otherwise ruin shit.[Give in to your anger...]